About a year ago I was shopping for a new receiver. I had narrowed my choices down to two very capable receiver, the Outlaw Audio 1050 and the Denon 2801. I had the oppertunity to demo the 2801 and really liked it. It had that nice warm Denon sound that I found missing in the 3801 (which was also in consideration). I was leaning towards the Outlaw, I really liked what I was reading and hearing about the Outlaw... but after demoing 5 channel stereo of the Denon both of the receiver were neck and neck... I was stuck at a stand still. The ONLY reason I went with the Denon istead of the Outlaw was the fact that I thought the Outlaw was a blue/grey color because of the photos that were up on the web page at the time... and anything but black really turned me off. I read at the Home Theater Forum today that yes... it is actually black! And this is confirmed with some new pictures that are floating around your updated web page. Why does the 1050 look blue/grey in your gallery photos!

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/uub/Forum14/HTML/042253.html

-Jin

Wow. You made a choice on home electronics based on color?

Just out of curiosity, does the Denon have 6.1 surround? That is one feature that adds so much to the viewing experience. I had my grandfather over yesterday and was showing off my home theater. He'd never seen Gladiator so we watched the Battle of Carthage in 6.1 surround. Between the crossbow bolts flying overhead, the horses running around behind us, and the general crowd ambiance, he was almost overwhelmed. He just kept looking around going, "WOW! I love the sound! It feels like you're right there! This is better than a theater!"

Anyway, hope you're happy with your Denon. If not, there's always room for one more in the Outlaw Family!

Owl's_Warder,

The look of our equipment can be critical in obtaining acceptance from the Spouse. This is often referred to as the "WAF" or, more politically correct, "SAF" (Wife/Spouse Acceptance Factor). This is one of the very few reasons I'm glad I'm single.

------------------
pat----

home: psklenar@home.com ... office: psklenar@uhc.com

no home page yet, so ...
Entertainment Center ---==*==--- DVD Collection

Now that I look at those photos on the web, the 'bluish' tinge is certainly noticeable.

I wonder if we could get future production to have it?

:-)

[This message has been edited by robfwoods (edited August 13, 2001).]

Trouble maker!

pat----

You could always try to detach the metal face and get a gun blue kit. Hey, it works for rifle barrels. ;-)

Looking at pictures of my equipment rack, the Outlaw stuff isn't as deep black as my Yamaha CD changer, but it definitely isn't blue either. I don't know why some of the pictures on Outlaw's site look blue, although I'm pretty sure the one on the main page right now looks that way because it's been Photoshopped to look "smoky" and slightly faded.

I personally know two other people who though it was blue/grey also. One of these people is the guy who initially suggested that I go with outlaw! I had no desires or space to put a 6.1/7.1 setup in my house, so that's why I chose the 2801 over the 3801. With all things being equal the asthetics of the products are very important. I'm single... so there were no WAF's that came into play... but I don't want a blue/red/green peice of equipment to break up the stack of black equipment I have unless it is heads and shoulders above everything else. Why would a company post pictures of it's equipment that don't accuratly represent what you are getting? The pictures in the current and past galleries don't even begin to look black. I'm just suggesting they take better pictures to accuratly represent the color of the receiver... because to some people looks ARE important. Anyhoo... I would dump the 2801 and give the outlaw a try... but my next upgrade has to have DPLII

-Jin

Jin --

Here are two pictures of an Outlaw 1050 and a 750 (the first is my setup; thanks to psklenar for the second picture)

http://www.prillaman.net/image/livingroom-rack.jpg

http://members.home.com/psklenar/P0000402.JPG

The face of the Outlaw equipment isn't painted black, so the metal tends to reflect flashes a lot (making it look lighter/grayer than it appears in real life), but if you compare the 1050 and 750 to other equipment in both pictures, you can see that it's very similar. Of the components in the first picture, only the VCR and digital cable box at the top have plastic faces; the CD changer and DVD have metal faceplates.

I learned years ago from my dad (a silversmith and photographer) that some metal finishes are very difficult to photograph (silver, for example, will tend to appear to be the color of other materials nearby because it is so neutral -- so it can look green if the photographer has a green t-shirt on). Between the fairly simple metal finish of the Outlaw equipment (a finish that I personally like) and a little Photoshop tweaking, it is I suppose reasonable for the gallery photos to be a little "off" on color.

Ok Ok! Apparently color is a factor to some people. Luckily, my only WAF was that we could afford it! I nearly drove her up the wall with planning and purchasing, but she loves it now!

It had been bugging me all day trying to remember where I had heard your name before then it hit me as I was pulling the VFR into the garage this afternoon. Are you still in the AU area? If so I could bring my 1050 down when I come for the games this fall. But then again that would be alot of weight to bungee to the seat of the bike

I also considered the 2801. But I decided to give the Outlaw a try and never regreted it.

WDE